Diamond Certification Guide

Every diamond sold by a reputable jeweller or dealer should come with an accredited certificate. This is where all the specifications and characteristics of a given stone have been professionally assessed by a trained and fully qualified gemologist in controlled conditions.

There are several professional bodies and laboratories that specialise in providing certifications:

1. GIA - The Gemological Institute of America

2. IGI - International Gemological Institute

3. EGL - European Gemological Laboratory

As with every aspect of your once-in-a-lifetime purchase, there are a number of points you need to be aware of before proceeding:

When it comes to manufacturing jewellery and silverware, precious metals (silver, palladium, gold and platinum) are rarely used in their purest form. Instead, they are usually alloyed with lesser metals to achieve the desired strength, durability, and colour.

It is not possible to detect the precious metal content of an item by sight or by touch. It is, therefore, a legal requirement to have items consisting of silver, palladium, gold or platinum independently tested and then hallmarked before they can be described as such. Items must bear a hallmark at the point of sale, subject to the following weight exemptions:

• Silver: mandatory for items above 7.78 grams;

• Gold: mandatory for items above 1 gram

• Palladium: mandatory for items above 1 gram

• Platinum: mandatory for items above 0.5 grams.

ABELINI LTD. is registered with the Assay Office London, ensuring our precious metal jewellery is compliant with the UK’s hallmarking regulations. All stock is subject to an internal confirmation process to ensure it meets the UK’s hallmarking regulations before it is dispatched to our customers.

For articles that are below the UK Hallmarking Act’s mandatory weight for hallmarking, ABELINI LTD. operates a separate due diligence process that involves periodic voluntary testing of items that fall below the mandatory weight to ensure that they meet the minimum fineness requirement.

We are an Assay Assured Jewellery Retailer. Assay Assured status is only given to retailers who have been independently audited and verified by Assay Assured, which is run and overseen by the Edinburgh Assay Office and ensures that all precious metal jewellery (except items exempt by weight) are independently tested and hallmarked.

Grading Quality: It’s important to note that the grading quality will differ between labs, and they aren’t as yet held to a definitive objective standard. A number of lesser-known laboratories and bodies will lower their grading quality criteria under pressure from retailers who want to maintain the ability to charge as much as they possibly can. That’s why at Abelini we only use the most highly regarded certifiers to make sure you receive nothing but the premium luxury you deserve.

Grading Quality: A cheaper offer from a certifier you have never heard of may sound like a great way to save money, but the important thing to remember is that your certificate is ultimately there to give you peace of mind by giving an objective and reliable measure of what you are actually getting for your money. This tells you straight away that you certainly don’t want to cut corners when it comes to the quality of your certification.

Storage: Be sure to keep your certificate in a safe place for future reference. It is the most reliable piece of documentation if you ever come to sell your piece in the future, and it is also essential if you are to properly insure your piece for its true value. Being able to accurately identify your diamond in the event of theft, it allows you to maximise your chances of recovering it.

To learn more about the intricacies of diamond certification, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our dedicated team. They’re always on hand to answer any questions you may have so that you can buy with the confidence and peace of mind that you deserve.